In a statement released by the Kremlin, Kyiv has been accused of attempting to assassinate Putin by using two drones in a terrorist attack.
Russia released a statement on Wednesday claiming that Ukraine is responsible for the drone strike against the residence of President Putin at the Kremlin. The statement said that timely action by military and special services enabled them to disable the drones, which then crashed on the Kremlin grounds without any harm or damage. Videos shared on social media show fire and smoke over the Kremlin Senate. Ukraine, however, has denied these claims.
Kremlin Statement
According to Russia, the attack is viewed as a planned terrorist attack and an assassination attempt targeting the president using two unmanned aerial vehicles. Putin was not in the Kremlin at the time of the attack. He has not been injured in the attack, and his work schedule is set to follow its normal course.
Russia also says it reserves the right to take countermeasures whenever and wherever it deems appropriate. The alleged attack on Putin was carried out ahead of Russia’s victory day and May 9 Parade, where foreign guests are expected to be present.
Victory Day is a national holiday in Russia, celebrating the victory of Soviet Russia over Nazi Germany in 1945. Moscow’s mayor announced later that all use of drones was banned in the city.
Videos of the attack
Numerous videos of the attack were shared on social media, which showed two objects flying towards the dome of the Kremlin Senate in the early morning hours of Wednesday. The two objects were destroyed between 2:30 am and 2:45 am.
While the first drone was wrecked with little smoke, the second one seems to have burst into flames and left wreckage over the Senate dome.
Responses to the attack
Ukraine has denied any and all involvement in the drone attack on the Kremlin. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a press conference that Ukraine does not fight Putin or Moscow and instead protects its own territory, defending its villages and cities. Mykhailo Podolyak, the advisor to the Ukrainian president, said in a tweet that Ukraine wages an exclusively defensive war. According to him, something is happening in the Russian Federation without Ukraine’s drones over the Kremlin.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is sceptical of Russia’s claims. He said in Washington that he would take everything the Kremlin says with a “very large shaker of salt”.
Russian leaders, however, have widely condemned the attack. Deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, allegedly said on his Telegram channel that Moscow is now left with no choice but to eliminate Volodymyr Zelensky and his clique, according to TASS News Agency.
The speaker of the Russian parliament Vyacheslav Volodin has also demanded the use of weapons that can stop and destroy the Kyiv regime. He also said that Russia should no longer negotiate with Ukraine after the attack.
On Wednesday, Ukraine’s Kherson region was hit by heavy Russian shelling, where around 18 civilians were killed. Ukraine is also set to gain equipment from the US. It remains to be seen what retaliatory measures Russia uses against Ukraine in the war that has stretched beyond a year.
